"It is but honest that I should acknowledge at the beginning of my recitalthat I was born an ordinary Woggle-Bug," began the creature, in a frank andfriendly tone. "Knowing no better, I used my arms as well as my legs forwalking, and crawled under the edges of stones or hid among the roots ofgrasses with no thought beyond finding a few insects smaller than myself tofeed upon.

"The chill nights rendered me stiff and motionless, for I wore no clothing,but each morning the warm rays of the sun gave me new life and restored meto activity. A horrible existence is this, but you must remember it is theregular ordained existence of Woggle-Bugs, as well as of many other tinycreatures that inhabit the earth.

"But Destiny had singled me out, humble though I was, for a grander fate!One day I crawled nearto a country school house, and my curiosity being excited by the monotonoushum of the students within, I made bold to enter and creep along a crackbetween two boards until I reached the far end, where, in front of a hearthof glowing embers, sat the master at his desk.

"No one noticed so small a creature as a Woggle-Bug, and when I found thatthe hearth was even warmer and more comfortable than the sunshine, Iresolved to establish my future home beside it. So I found a charming nestbetween two bricks and hid myself therein for many, many months.

"Professor Nowitall is, doubtless, the most famous scholar in the land ofOz, and after a few days I began to listen to the lectures and discourses hegave his pupils. Not one of them was more attentive than the humble,unnoticed Woggle-Bug, and I acquired in this way a fund of knowledge that Iwill myself confess is simply marvelous. That is why I place 'T.E.'Thoroughly Educated upon my cards; for my greatest pride lies in the factthat the world cannot produce another Woggle-Bug with a tenth part of my ownculture and erudition."

"I do not blame you," said the Scarecrow. "Education is a thing to be proudof. I'm educated myself. The mess of brains given me by the GreatWizard is considered by my friends to be unexcelled."

"Nevertheless," interrupted the Tin Woodman, "a good heart is, I believe,much more desirable than education or brains."

"To me," said the Saw-Horse, "a good leg is more desirable than either."

"Could seeds be considered in the light of brains?" enquired thePumpkinhead, abruptly.

"Keep quiet!" commanded Tip, sternly.

"Very well, dear father," answered the obedient Jack.

The Woggle-Bug listened patiently -- even respectfully -- to these remarks,and then resumed his story.

"I must have lived fully three years in that secluded school-house hearth,"said he, "drinking thirstily of the ever-flowing fount of limpid knowledgebefore me."

"Quite poetical," commented the Scarecrow, nodding his head approvingly.

"But one, day" continued the Bug, "a marvelous circumstance occurred thataltered my very existence and brought me to my present pinnacle ofgreatness. TheProfessor discovered me in the act of crawling across the hearth, and beforeI could escape he had caught me between his thumb and forefinger.

"'My dear children,' said he, 'I have captured a Woggle-Bug -- a very rareand interesting specimen. Do any of you know what a Woggle-Bug is?'

"'No!' yelled the scholars, in chorus.

"'Then,' said the Professor, 'I will get out my famous magnifying-glass andthrow the insect upon a screen in a highly-magnified condition, that you mayall study carefully its peculiar construction and become acquainted with itshabits and manner of life.'

"He then brought from a cupboard a most curious instrument, and before Icould realize what had happened I found myself thrown upon a screen in ahighly-magnified state -- even as you now behold me.

"The students stood up on their stools and craned their heads forward to geta better view of me, and two little girls jumped upon the sill of an openwindow where they could see more plainly.

"'Behold!' cried the Professor, in a loud voice, 'this highly-magnifiedWoggle-Bug; one of the most curious insects in existence!'

"Being Thoroughly Educated, and knowing what is required of a culturedgentleman, at this juncture I stood upright and, placing my hand upon mybosom, made a very polite bow. My action, being unexpected, must havestartled them, for one of the little girls perched upon the window-sill gavea scream and fell backward out the window, drawing her companion with her asshe disappeared.

"The Professor uttered a cry of horror and rushed away through the door tosee if the poor children were injured by the fall. The scholars followedafter him in a wild mob, and I was left alone in the school-room, still in aHighly-Magnified state and free to do as I pleased.

"It immediately occurred to me that this was a good opportunity to escape. Iwas proud of my great size, and realized that now I could safely travelanywhere in the world, while my superior culture would make me a fitassociate for the most learned person I might chance to meet.

"So, while the Professor picked the little girls -- who were more frightenedthan hurt -- off the ground, and the pupils clustered around him closelygrouped, I calmly walked out of the school-house, turned a corner, andescaped unnoticed to a grove of trees that stood near"

"Wonderful!" exclaimed the Pumpkinhead, admiringly.

"It was, indeed," agreed the Woggle-Bug. "Ihave never ceased to congratulate myself for escaping while I was HighlyMagnified; for even myexcessive knowledge would have proved of little use to me had I remained a tiny,insignificant insect."

"I didn't know before," said Tip, looking at theWoggle-Bug with a puzzled expression, "that insects wore clothes."

"Nor do they, in their natural state," returned the stranger. "But in thecourse of my wanderings I had the good fortune to save the ninth life of atailor -- tailors having, like cats, nine lives, as you probably know. Thefellow was exceedingly grateful, for had he lost that ninth life it wouldhave been the end of him; so he begged permission to furnish me with thestylish costume I now wear. It fits very nicely, does it not?" and theWoggle-Bug stood up and turned himself around slowly, that all might examinehis person.

"He must have been a good tailor," said the Scarecrow, somewhat enviously.

"He was a good-hearted tailor, at any rate," observed Nick Chopper.

"But where were you going, when you met us?" Tip asked the Woggle-Bug.

"Nowhere in particular," was the reply, "although it is my intention soon tovisit the Emerald City and arrange to give a course of lectures to selectaudiences on the 'Advantages of Magnification.'"

"We are bound for the Emerald City now," said the Tin Woodman; "so, if itpleases you to do so, you are welcome to travel in our company."

The Woggle-Bug bowed with profound grace.

"It will give me great pleasure," said he "to accept your kind invitation;for nowhere in the Land of Oz could I hope to meet with so congenial acompany."

"That is true," acknowledged the Pumpkinhead. "We are quite as congenial asflies and honey."

"But -- pardon me if I seem inquisitive -- are you not all rather -- ahem!rather unusual?" asked the Woggle-Bug, looking from one to another withunconcealed interest.

"Not more so than yourself," answered the Scarecrow. "Everything in life isunusual until you get accustomed to it."

"What rare philosophy!" exclaimed the Woggle-Bug, admiringly.

"Yes; my brains are working well today," admitted the Scarecrow, an accentof pride in his voice.

"Then, if you are sufficiently rested and refreshed, let us bend our stepstoward the Emerald City," suggested the magnified one.

"We can't," said Tip. "The Saw-Horse has broken a leg, so he can't bend hissteps. And there is no wood around to make him a new limb from. And we can'tleave the horse behind because the Pumpkinhead is so stiff in his Jointsthat he has to ride."

"How very unfortunate!" cried the Woggle-Bug. Then he looked the party overcarefully and said:

"If the Pumpkinhead is to ride, why not use one of his legs to make a legfor the horse that carries him? I judge that both are made of wood."

"Now, that is what I call real cleverness," said the Scarecrow, approvingly."I wonder my brains did not think of that long ago! Get to work, my dearNick, and fit the Pumpkinhead's leg to the Saw-Horse."

Jack was not especially pleased with this idea; but he submitted to havinghis left leg amputated by the Tin Woodman and whittled down to fit the leftleg of the Saw-Horse. Nor was the Saw-Horse especially pleased with theoperation, either; for he growled a good deal about being "butchered," as hecalled it, and afterward declared that the new leg was a disgrace to arespectable Saw-Horse.

"I beg you to be more careful in your speech," said the Pumpkinhead,sharply. "Remember, if you please, that it is my leg you are abusing."

"I cannot forget it," retorted the Saw-Horse, "for it is quite as flimsy asthe rest of your person."

"Flimsy! me flimsy!" cried Jack, in a rage. "How dare you call me flimsy?"

"Because you are built as absurdly as ajumping-jack," sneered the horse, rolling his knotty eyes in a vicious manner. "Evenyour head won't stay straight, and you never can tell whether you arelooking backwards or forwards!"

"Friends, I entreat you not to quarrel!" pleaded the Tin Woodman,anxiously." As a matter of fact, we are none of us above criticism; so letus bear with each others' faults."

"An excellent suggestion," said the Woggle-Bug, approvingly. "You must havean excellent heart, my metallic friend."

"I have," returned Nick, well pleased. "My heart is quite the best part ofme. But now let us start upon our Journey.

They perched the one-legged Pumpkinhead upon the Saw-Horse, and tied him tohis seat with cords, so that he could not possibly fall off.

And then, following the lead of the Scarecrow, they all advanced in thedirection of the Emerald City.